Two thoroughly plastered young human men stumbled into their apartment and proceeded to collapse, rather unceremoniously, into their respective seats. The taller of the two, a young man with spiked blonde hair, tan skin, and a muscled build, spilled what was left of his rum and coke onto the floor in doing so. His companion, a shorter, skinnier man with a feminine build and long, feathery dyed-white hair mumbled curses under his breath.
"For the love of- Jeez, Alan, could you try and keep your drink in your cup?" He complained, tossing an empty red solo cup across the room at the object of his frustration. The beach-bum didn't respond when the cup bounced off his forehead, and a loud snore soon made it clear to his companion that he was asleep. The cup thrower grumbled to himself again. "Alan! Wake up!" He ordered, raising his voice. Alan snorted and blinked himself awake again, and swiveled his head around til he was focused on the other man.
"What, Michael, is so important that you had to wake me up?" He demanded, rubbing his forehead- which was stinging mysteriously- and raising an irritated eyebrow at his roomate.
The white haired man, Michael, pushed against the cushions of the couch he was sprawled on and straightened himself up. He gestured vaguely to the T.V. "It's almost six 'o' clock. New episode of ponies." He said, swaying gently as if blown by a powerful wind. His words, though slurred, had the desired effect- Alan straightened up and, with surprising skill for an inebriate, switched on the television and switched to the Hub just as the episode was starting. Both men, their argument forgotten, were thrown into a trance-like state of focus as Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight appeared on screen.
---Approximately half an hour later...---
Michael wiped a tear from his eye as Spike sent off the episode-ending letter to Celestia. Then he handed the blunt back to Alan, and, grinning widely, held up his hand like a student who really thought he knew the answer. Alan looked at him, an eyebrow raised, as he took a hit.
Taking this as an acknowledgement, the white-haired man grinned even wider. "I just had the best idea of my life, brony." He said, taking back the blunt as his companion collapsed into a coughing fit. He continued talking, ignoring the precious item he held between his fingers. "You ever seen 'Weird Science'? It's an old movie I watched with my older sister, like, years ago." He said, handing back the blunt without even taking a hit.
Alan shook his head in a solid negative, taking another hit and, realizing his blunt buddy wasn't going to partake again until he was done pitching his idea, kept it firmly held in his hand. "Nope. What's it about?" He asked, scratching his head.
A moment passed as Michael considered how to answer his friend's question, before he finally opted for a summary of the idea. "Well, these two teenagers make up this girl and use science to make her real, or something." He said, and Alan nodded appreciatively. Michael caught his expression and grinned. "Yeah, I know- great idea, right?" He said, before gesturing at the T.V. and then back at the two of them. "So... Maybe we should try to put ourselves into Equestria!" He finished, making his best triumphant face.
Alan just stared at him, a worried look on his face. "Did someone slip you a roofie when I wasn't lookin, Mikey?" He asked, checking the white-haired man's eyes for the 'lost' look some roofie-victims got. "Because that's imposs-" He stopped as Mikey's hand slapped across his mouth, effectively stopping him.
"Do not say impossible." He said, before gesturing wildly back at the t.v. "Everything Pinkie Pie does is impossible. The only reason she can do them is because she doesn't acknowledge it." He said- and, it may just have been the combined effects of alcohol and chronic, but that made a strange amount of sense
After a tense moment, Alan peeled Michael's hand away and nodded grimly. "You're right, brony. Let's do this." Together, they stood- and after a moment of panicked drunken swaying- made their way to what they hoped would be the last room they'd see on Earth.
Around them, nine computers thrummed to life- between their music, art, and gaming passions, they needed the multiple platforms- and, as drunk as they were, they set to work as professionally as they could. "Alright," Michael said, taking on a businesslike tone and punctuating his speech with a hit from the almost-forgotten blunt, "We'll need pony bodies for ourselves, a place picked out to arrive, and the closest episode to the current." He said, and they immediately understood their tasks- they knew themselves and each other well enough to know what their specialties were.
Alan nodded and went to work picking their arrival location and purchasing the latest episode off of itunes while Michael set about drawing their ponified forms. The former was finished within ten minutes and had played a good ten matches of Team Fortress 2 by the time the latter sat back from his work table with two completed and colored drawings before him. Alan looked over his shoulder. "Woah." Was all he could say.
Alan's was a light, minty green unicorn with a long, casually spiked darker green mane and a.... Alan groaned and pointed at his pony's flank. "A pot leaf, really?" He said, gesturing to what would be his own cutie mark. Michael nodded, grinning, and pointed to the simple name he'd written next to the pony. "Herb." Alan said, reading it aloud. He grinned and thumped his artistic friend on the back. "That'll do." He said, shaking his head and holding back laughter. Then he turned to look at Mikey's.
Michael's was different- a deep, dark, multi-hued blue-violet pegasus that had a long, blood red mane in a casually messy style similar to his real hair. On his flank, an electric-blue quarter note twisted into an S. Michael read the name aloud as he took in the look on his companion's face. "Synthesizer." He said, grinning.
They spent a few moments gushing over their ponies and making a few minute changes, when Alan finally made a blatant comment. "Don't they look a little... feminine?" He asked, pointing out their small form and their soft, female head shapes. Michael shook his head confidently.
"Nope. All ponies look like that." He said, and the self-assuredness in his voice was enough to convince Alan. They looked around at what they had- and realized they had no idea what to do now. Michael looked around and nodded decisively. He went and pulled a a set of jumper cables out of the cabinet, as well as a few conductive wires, and started setting up a jumbled mess of a circuit. "What we'll do is hook ourselves up to the circuit box, then continue the circuit to a computer with our location, the episode, and a scan of the drawings all open." He said, and Alan just shook his head.
"That makes no sen-" He was once again treated to the feeling of Mikey's hand slapping down onto his face. Mikey just shook his head gravely and pointed to the computer that had the episode on it. Alan nodded and set about scanning the drawings and opening up the picture of their planned insertion point into Equestria. Mikey took a pair of jumper cables out of a cabinet, hooked one end directly into the circuit box and the other into some copper wire, and ran the copper wire from the box to the computer. Alan looked at the setup and raised an eyebrow. "What now?" He asked, looking at his white-haired companion.
The companion in question guided Alan over to the wire and made him grab it with both hands, then grabbed ahold of the wire with one hand, and the circuit switch with the other. "I'm gonna switch this one, the Electric Current will go through us on the way to the computer, and we will be beamed into Equestria." He said, and Alan flinched.
"This is gonna kill us." He said, but maintained his grip on the wire while Michael flipped the switch. Pure, unrestricted electricity flowed into the wire, through them, and to the computer at the end of the circuit. Both men screamed as electricity arced through every atom of their body and the computer exploded. Both men had time to realize they'd failed before everything faded into oblivion.
--- ... ---
Michael blinked, once and then twice, as his eyes adjusted to the light. He breathed in sharply, thoroughly enjoying the warm, summer air and delighting in how free of pollutants it was. Wait a minute. Warm? Free of pollutants? Mikey lived in New York. He looked around frantically, noting the green fields that spread off in the distance til they met with a small, eccentric looking little town. He blinked again, and it was all still there. Exactly how drunk did he get last night? He rolled over unto his stomach, noting the awkward position of his arms, and struggled to stand up. He staggered and fell back over immediately. So, maybe his headache was a lie and he was still drunk? He held up his arm in front of his face. Just a blue-violet hoof, nothing too strange there.
What?
He looked again, and gasped as he recognized a hoof and a coat of fur on his arm- no, leg. He looked at his other fore leg and grinned happily- his mad plan, conceived of vodka and mary jane's subtle whisperings, had worked. He was a pony. He looked around again, more carefully this time, and recognized a green unicorn laying on the ground a few feet away. His grin widened at the sight of his best friend, Alan. No, his name is Herb. He corrected himself mentally, and chuckled- no, he giggled. He blinked, confused. His voice was at least an octave higher than it should be, and it had a feminine lilt to it. He struggled to his feet more carefully this time, now compensating for being a quadruped, and walked unsteadily over to where 'Herb' lay. He prodded the sleeping unicorn gently, and 'Herb's steady breathing caught, and he blinked himself awake.
He blinked his bright green eyes once, then twice, trying to focus on Michael's face. His brain didn't work quite as quickly as his friend's. He woke up and saw a pony's face looking down at him, backed by an unnaturally bright blue sky, and he panicked. His first response was to swing a fist (hoof) at Michael's face, and only because Herb didn't know how to use his new body that well yet was Michael able to avoid the flying hoof and a worse headache than he already had.
Michael yelled out in an attempt to stop his friend's idiotic flailing. "Hey, Alan, knock it off! It's me!" He said, and was amazed at how feminine his voice sounded. Alan blinked once, twice, then shook his head. Michael nodded, understanding Alan's dilemma. "It really is. Apparently, my plan worked." He said, grinning widely despite his consternation about his voice.
Alan grinned back, and shook his head. "How come you sound like a girl?" He wondered aloud, then slapped a hoof over his mouth as he, too, sounded decidedly feminine. He narrowed his eyes angrily at Michael and growled. "How come I sound like a girl?" He asked, getting to his feet and taking an unsteady step towards his companion, menace in his every move.
Nervous, Mikey took a step back, now thankful that he'd taken the time to grow accustomed to his new body before waking up Alan. "Easy there, Alan. I'm sure it's nothing serious." He said, making 'calm, calm' gestures as best he could with his hoof. He took another step back just as Alan lunged- and tripped over his own hooves, faceplanting into the dirt.
The green pony spluttered and spit out a mouthful of dirt, and took a moment a moment to compose himself. "Fine, fine." He said, blushing at the sound of his own voice. "What do you think happened, then, Mikey?" he asked, eying the blue-violet pony with barely controlled rage.
The pegasus tapped his chin with a hoof for a moment, before lifting a hind leg and swiveling his head around to examine himself. Embarassed, Alan averted his eyes, muttering something about inappropriate actions. When Mikey looked back around, he was blushing furiously. "Umm... I guess you were right about the drawings being too feminine." He said after a few moments of trying to find his voice. Alan shook his head and slumped to the ground, groaning.
"Damn it." He said, slapping a hoof against his forehead once or twice. After a moment, he struggled to his feet and took a few practice steps. He turned to look at Michael after a moment, and nodded his head toward the town in the distance. "So.. I'd wager that's Ponyville, then?" He said, though it was more a question than statement, and Michael nodded.
"Probably, yeah." He said, and started walking towards it. Alan followed behind him, albeit a little less steadily. Mikey slowed down enough for the two of them to walk side by side, and looked over. "So... We should probably get used to using our real names, eh Herb? As well as... well, as being female." Synthesizer said, somehow managing to cope with the changes without much burden on her mind. Herb, however, seemed to be having trouble with it.
She shook her head and rubbed the side of it with a hoof, as if trying to massage the notion into her head. "I don't know if I can, Synthesizer." She said, and was going to continue when they were both dazzled by a rainbow blur blasting by overhead. They looked at each other, grins already starting to form on their faces as they realized the enormity of their situation. They had something that many bronies would kill for. They were in Equestria.
They simultaneously went for a brohoof and started laughing. After a few moments, Synthesizer managed to compose herself enough to speak. "This is the best idea we've ever had. Female or not, I'm glad it worked." She said, watching what she assumed was Rainbow Dash rocketing toward Ponyville. After a few moments of jealously watching the pegasus pony fly, she smacked herself in the face again, and looked over her shoulder at her wings, neatly folded against her back. Staring at them and grinning, she tried to spread her wings- and found that she didn't even know what muscles to use.
Starting to panic- there was no way she'd be able to do anything in Equestria as a pegasus who couldn't move her wings- she flexed every muscle she could think of in a vain attempt to spread her wings, and failed miserably. Then, struck with sudden inspiration, she closed her eyes and pictured Rainbow Dash... Whoosh! A rush of air buffeted Herb as Synthesizer's wings sprung wide, and Synth felt them for the first time. She giggled in delight, flexing and flapping them experimentally, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of her new appendages.
Herb just watched her, an eyebrow raised and an annoyed expression plastered on her face as he watched her prance around like the girl she now was. "Honestly, Mich- er, Synthesizer, were you ever a man?" She asked, shaking her head and looking away out of respect for her one-time brony. Synth just laughed and launched herself into the air- only to mirror Herb's earlier attempt to walk by planting her face firmly into the dirt. Now it was Herb's turn to just laugh.
Synth stood up groggily, rubbing the side of her head and checking that her wings were unharmed by the accident. She was about to say something snide and uncalled for to Herb when three voices interrupted her, two from off to the right and one from directly above, all screaming the same thing. "LOOK OUT!!" They said, and Synthesizer looked up in time to see a cyan-and-rainbow ball of pony rocketing for the ground right where she was standing. Synth did the one thing her chivalrous human instincts told her to do- she spread out her fore legs and caught (or, rather, was crushed by) the rainbow maned pony from the sky.
When her head cleared, she was sprawled on the ground with her limbs hopelessly entangled with those of an iconic cyan pegasus, who looked to be a lot less hurt than Synthesizer was herself. She looked over to see Herb coughing up dirt for the second time today, as she'd dived out of the way only to trip again. She looked back at the rainbow-maned pony she'd somehow managed to get wrapped in her forelegs, and blushed heavily- even as a guy, Synth had never been very confident, and that had definitely carried over. She cleared her throat, trying in vain to extricate herself from the knot of legs, wings, and torsos that they'd become upon collision.
After a moment, the cyan pegasus blinked open a single magenta eye, then blinked again until it wasn't glazed over anymore, and focused her vision on her would-be rescuer. "Oh. Hi there." She said, grinning, before disentangling herself like a pro and leaving Synth laying there wondering how the hell she'd done it. She held out a hoof and helped the blue-violet pegasus to her feet when she took it. Dash made a face and took on a stern tone once Synth was on her feet. "Thanks for trying to help me and all, but you coulda seriously hurt yourself. Next time, just look out, okay? I'd hate to hurt somepony as pretty as you." She said the last bit as a joke to ease the tension, nudging a suddenly-flustered Synth teasingly.
Synth nodded, not trusting her voice- she just knew that as soon as she tried to say something witty back, her voice would crack or her- she stopped herself in mid mind-rant. Apparently, becoming a female had actually made her lack of confidence worse. Lovely.
The cyan showboat frowned, looking Synth over carefully. "Ehm... did I break you? Can you talk there, kiddo?" She asked, leaving Synthesizer somewhat confused- how old was Dash, anyway?- and embarrassed at being so shy.
"Uhm.." She said, clearing her throat and sitting down so her knees wouldn't wobble. "Yes." She said in a small, quiet voice. Dash frowned and facehoofed.
She poked the other pegasus in the chest forcefully, almost knocking the poor mare over. "Talk louder, you. The last thing I need is another cripplingly shy pony running around." She said, making Herb bristle with indignant protectiveness. She stepped between the two of them.
"Easy there, girlie." Herb said, sounding for all the world like someone's scottish uncle, except without the accent. "She's just a little shellshocked. You did kinda just fall outta the sky onto her head, y'know." She said, putting a hoof on Synth's shoulder. This was a familiar routine- somebody would pick on Michael back in the human world, and Alan was always there to protect him- and it seemed like, ponies as they may be, it wasn't a routine that would be changing too much. At least, Herb thought that until Synthesizer pushed her hoof out of the way and smiled at Rainbow Dash, offering her hoof.
"Sorry. Herb was right, I am a little shellshocked, but it was a pleasure to be crushed by you." She said, giggling and holding out a hoof. "I'm Synthesizer. You are?" She asked, doing a very good job of pretending to have no clue.
The cyan pegasus looked a little bemused, but took the offered hoof and shook it gently, afraid she'd break the excitable and somewhat bipolar pegasus before her. "I'm Rainbow Dash. Synthe-what-now?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she stuttered over the other mare's name.
The blue-violet pegasus started to sound it out, but stopped herself. "Just Synth is fine." She said, just as two ponies- probably the ones that had screamed for her to look out- joined the group. Synth and Herb recognized them at once, though they still introduced themselves as Fluttershy and..
"Pinkie Pie!" The excitable pink mare said, bouncing in a circle around Herb, who was entranced. As much as Dash was Synth's idol, Pinkie was Herb's. Herb held out a friendly hoof in front of the hopping pink pony. She stopped, looked at it, then back at Herb, then again at the hoof. Then she closed the distance between the two and tackled Herb to the ground in a ferocious 'new friend hug'. Herb hugged back with careless abandon, squeezing the delighted pink pony for all she was worth before separating herself from her.
Herb smiled widely after the hug, and shook Fluttershy's hoof politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Herb, and this is my friend Synth." She said, speaking more to Pinkie than Fluttershy.
Fluttershy looked relieved at being ignored, and sat down quietly while the other four chatted animatedly. She looked around and observed the two new ponies. There was something wrong about these two. They seemed nice enough, but there was something off. For one, when Pinkie handed Herb a cupcake- one that she'd magically pulled from nowhere- the unicorn struggled to pick it up with her hooves, almost like she'd forgotten she had a horn. As for the pegasus, Synth... Well, Dash was talking as fast as could be about flying, and it was quite clear that the ocean-eyed pegasus had no idea what Rainbow was talking about. She looked like she didn't even know how to fly.
Fluttershy checked herself- she knew she was being rude, even if she wasn't saying it out loud. She cleared her throat quietly, but noone noticed. She reached over and tapped Pinkie Pie, and the pink earth pony recognized the look on the yellow pegasus's face and gave a sharp whistle, silencing everyone. Fluttershy took over. "Maybe we could all, um.. go and get some food... Y'know, if you want." She said, and everypony checked their guts to find that they agreed.
--- Lunch for four with second helpings later... ---
Herb leaned back, full and satisfied with her meal, and looked around to smile and Synth, who spared time to smile back before going back to being entranced with Dash. Sure, Herb felt a little bad for cutting Lyra's coinpurse, but it was better than admitting to the girls that she and Synth had no money and would need to freeload off of them. Anyway, the food had been way worth the stolen bits, even if Synth had given her that knowing look that meant a reprimand would be coming. Herb turned to talk to Pinkie, searching for a topic worthy of idle chatter when she got the strangest feeling... and her tail twitched. She looked over Pinkie's head and caught sight of a falling brick just in time to throw herself into Pinkie, thus taking the brick to the head herself. She blinked once at the smarting pain, and the next time she closed her eyes they stayed that way, stuck.
Well, so much for being the triumphant hero.
Synth kneeled over Herb's unconscious form with Pinkie Pie while Fluttershy did her best to examine the profusely bleeding gash on top of her head. Rainbow Dash had flown off to get Nurse Redheart, much to Synth's disappointment- as much as she cared about Herb, she'd yearned to fly off with Dash... if she were able to fly, she probably would have. As it was, she sat next to Herb feeling rather melancholy and watching Pinkie Pie fidget while watching the unconscious unicorn with a nervous expression. Synth got up to stretch her legs and Pinkie Pie fixed her nervous attention on her.
"Hey! Do you think she's gonna be okay?" She asked, bouncing nervously- it seemed that, no matter her mood, holding still was an impossibility for Pinkie. Synth smiled and nodded, then turned to gesture at Herb just as the green pony started to stir.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. She's got a thick head." Synth said, grinning, just in time for Herb to sit up and hear her. The chronic pony glared at her as she slowly staggered to her feet- only to be knocked down once more as Pinkie connected with a massive tackle-hug, almost banging Herb's face against the ground again.
The pink pony was ecstatic that Herb was (mostly) unharmed. "Oh, gosh, I'm so glad you're okay! It would've made me so sad if you'd gotten hurt trying to stop me from getting hurt. But oh, thank you for saving me!" She said, squeezing Herb so hard that her eyes bulged- not that the green unicorn was complaining, of course. No, quite the opposite, Herb squeezed the party pony back, eliciting a thrilled squeak from her, and waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Synth over her hug-buddy's fluffy pink mane.
After a few moments, Herb decided that it would probably be best for everypony if she broke the hug. She pushed the pink pony away and smiled. "It was no problem, really. It was my pleasure." She said, blushing at the disappointed face Herb thought the pink pony made when she pulled away. Just as everyone was getting back to their feet and re-situated, Dash and Nurse Redheart showed up, sweating and out-of-breath. Dash pointed at Herb, panting.
"She was hurt, honest!" She yelled as the angry Nurse rounded on her with a furious expression. Just as the Nurse was about to gibbs-hoof the cyan pegasus, Synth came to the rescue by grabbing Herb and throwing her on the ground, then gasping.
"Oh, my! Nurse, she just collapsed!" She said, putting the best note of panic she could muster into her voice as she did so. The nurse rushed to the green pony's side as she, once again, coughed up clods of dirt. Dash gave Synth a thankful smile while the nurse fussed over Herb's injured head and checked her thoroughly for the signs of concussion. Dash slapped her hoof against Synth's in a resounding high-hoof as the Nurse forced Herb to take a dose of a small, bitter medicine and left. Then, they scattered as the green unicorn launched herself across the short distance between them, horn lowered like a spear.
--- Sometime Later... ---
Dash and Synth lay on top of the hill, sprawled and panting, cringing at the yells echoing from the town and over the now-darkening expanse of field. Herb's voice carried quite well, and the words that she were saying were enough to give the two nervous pegasi chills. "C'mon out, girls! I promise, I'm not even mad anymore! C'mon, we can solve this with a hug!" She said sweetly, and the two pegasi locked eyes, the look of fear in Synth's ocean eyes mirrored perfectly in Dash's magenta. "Don't worry! I won't hurt you!" She called again, and on an unspoken agreement, the two made a run for it.
Synthesizer couldn't help but feel a warm, happy feeling running through her body as she ran side by side her favorite pony. Sure, she was pretty fairly certain that once they evaded Herb that this dream come true scenario would come to an end, but that was far from her mind. At least, it was until Dash started flying, prompting her to jump and grab the cyan pegasus's leg, causing them both to tumble to the ground and, once again, end up hopelessly entangled. This time, Dash was back on her feet immediately and glaring at Synthesizer
"What the hay was that about?!" She growled, prodding Synth in the forehead with a hoof. The blue-violet pegasus stood up and shuffled her hooves nervously, mumbling.
"I don't know how to fly." She said, looking down as her face flushed a violent red.
Dash just stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending. "Say what, now?" She asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Synth shuffled her hooves again and, meeting Dash's eyes this time, repeated herself. "I don't know how to fly, Dash." The mare said, kicking at a tuft of grass.
The cyan pegasus looked at her for a moment, her mouth hanging open, before she snapped back to reality. "Uhm.. Okay. Well, we should get back." She said, turning away from Synth and walking towards the haunting sound of Herb's voice, leaving the blue-violet pony hurt and bewildered at Dash's sudden snub.
After a few shocked moments, Synth grumbled to herself and ran to keep up. She arrived, out of breath, just as Pinkie was explaining excitedly about a party she was hosting in exactly five minutes. "So, yeah! I'm throwing you two a Welcome-To-Ponyville party! I've already got all the invites out, so everyone in Ponyville should be there! C'mon, let's go!" She explained, all in one single breath. She then proceeded to grab Herb under one foreleg and drag her off at top speed toward Sugarcube Corner.
Synth and Dash followed in an awkward silence, slowly walking along at a calm pace- that is, until they heard the beautiful wail of synthetic music and the ground beneath their hooves hummed with the pulse of a heavy bass. Before they knew it, they were running full-tilt toward the party- the music was entrancing enough that their awkwardness was forgotten in the wake of their growing eagerness.
They skidded to a halt to find that the party wasn't actually in Sugarcube Corner- rather, it was all around it. There were a few small tents offering refreshments, a smoke machine and neon lights, and a small stage upon which the most beautiful mare Synth had ever seen sat, working a complicated synth-and-disc table the likes of which the blue-violet pegasus had only ever dreamed of owning. Synth gaped- man, the show had not given true-to-life representations of what parties in Equestria were really like. How had Pinkie Pie set all this up so quick?
On second thought, Synth decided it didn't matter as she made a beeline for the stage- stopping along the way to grab a cup of a strange apple-mead that was being peddled by a cheerful Applejack. She sat in front of the stage, looking up at the white unicorn who was spinning the records with awe as she sipped the very strong drink that Applejack had given her.
Suddenly, she felt an irritated presence settling down next to her, and she looked over to see a gray pony with striking violet eyes and an almost-prissy manedo staring at her. Synth smiled, recognizing the musical mare almost at once, and held out a hoof. "What's up?" She asked, grinning in as friendly a way as she could.
The gray mare took her hoof and shook it, giving it a look that was almost distaste. "Nothing is up," She replied, before prodding Synth's side in a way that, for some reason, made her groan and almost fall over. "Except, apparently, your wings." She finished, and Synth looked around in embarrassment to see that her wings were indeed spread to their full width, and probably had been since she'd started watching the DJ.
With some difficulty, Synthesizer folded her wings and turned to look apologetically at the gray pony. "I'm so sorry. It must be the drinks." She said, looking down at her apple-mead with a look of sudden hatred. She returned her gaze to the mare who'd pointed out her issue and smiled again. "Anyway, I'm Synthesizer. You are?" She asked, trying to appear casual.
The prissy pony looked at her for a moment, as if sizing her up, then turned to look back at the DJ. "Octavia." She said simply, and Synth smiled to herself as she, too, turned her attention to the stage. She heard Octavia mutter something, and turned to look at her again, an eyebrow raised. The gray pony looked at her for another tense moment. "Just as a warning; that's my marefriend, and she's way out of your league." She said, all in a neat and polite tone. It took Synth a moment to realize she was being insulted.
She blinked, taken aback- that insult had actually stung a bit, as she'd just been thinking that the unicorn was obviously just a little too good to be interested in her. She blinked back tears, looking at Octavia in bewilderment. "Um... That was... ouch." She said, giving the gray earth pony a reproachful look. "What did I do to deserve that?" She asked, taking a long drink from her cup.
The gray pony shook her head in irritation, but softened a bit- something about the look on the pegasus's face told her that the insult had carried a little more bite than she'd intended. She bit back her pride and patted the hurt pegasus on the shoulder. "Sorry, that came out differently than I'd intended." Octavia said, and Synth looked a little less upset, though she was clearly wary of the gray pony now. Neither one of them had noticed the DJ leave the stage and stand behind them, and they now were a little bewildered as they looked up at the stage to see it empty. A cheerful voice startled them both, and they spun around to face the electric-blue maned unicorn, who'd lifted her glasses up to reveal her ruby-red eyes.
"Who ya lookin' for up there?" She asked brightly, putting an arm around Octavia- and, oddly enough, around Synth as well. She ignored their surprise and gave them both a smile- though the one she gave Octavia was, admittedly, flirtier.
The gray earth pony in question blushed and smiled, biting back a sharp reprimand about her embracing Synth. "Ah, Vinyl. There you are." She said, then gestured at Synth. "Synthesizer and I were just talking about you." The gray mare continued, and Vinyl looked over at Synth with a cheesy smile.
"Yeah, I thought so. Lotsa people like to talk about me." She boasted, causing Octavia to facehoof and Synth to giggle. She snatched up Synth's drink and took a swig from it, smacking her lips appreciatively. "So, let's go get some more 'a this stuff. Being up there made me pretty thirsty." She said, and the three of them strode toward Applejack's booth with Octavia throwing Synth dirty looks all the while.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of drinks, laughter, and whispered-but-fierce arguments with Octavia, and Synthesizer sighed in relief as she finally laid down to sleep.
The accursed sunlight crawled across the floor and up the side of the bed before alighting on Synthesizer's face and initiating a brutal battle with her comfortable sleep. Eventually, the relentless sunlight overwhelmed her defenses, and Synth blinked herself awake, heaving a heavy yawn. She tried in vain to go back to sleep- she was so warm and comfortable, what with the soft blankets and the warm pony that she had her arm thrown over.
For the second time in as many days.... What?
She lifted the blankets off the pony's head and revealed a messy electric-blue mane. She gulped and shook the DJ gently, and she slowly rolled over to face her, eyes still closed. "What do you want Octy? It's too early for this." She complained, snuggling closer to Synthesizer without opening her eyes.
Synth cleared her throat, and Vinyl opened her eyes, knowing immediately that it wasn't Octavia. "Um.. Hi?" The blue-violet pegasus said, blushing so much that she was sure her face had changed colors completely. Vinyl blanched, and the two lapsed into an awkward silence.
Vinyl sat there for a moment before slapping a hoof against her own forehead so loud that it echoed throughout the room. "OH MAN! Oh man oh man! Octy is going to be so mad at me!" She said, leaping out of the bed and prancing around in a circle. Synth just sat there, ashamed, as the musical unicorn bounced around and beat herself up. "Oh, she's gonna kill me. How am I gonna apologize to Octy for this?" She asked, plopping down on the floor and slapping her hooves against the side of her head in abject terror.
Suddenly, a voice shocked her into silence, and Synth felt a hoof wrap around her waist.
"Apologize for what, Vinyl?" Octavia mumbled sleepily, snuggling closer to Synthesizer.
Synthesizer hadn't been this happy in her entire life- She'd spent twenty-one years as a human (a human male, to be precise) and she'd never been as happy as she was now, sitting in a comfortable carriage as a mare. She looked away from the window and took in the far-more-beautiful vista that she shared the carriage with. Well, cute fit them better. Octavia sitting straight and proper, as usual, with her eyes closed and her breath coming steadily. Vinyl slumped chaotically against her, one leg thrown around the gray pony's shoulders and her snoring face buried in her marefriend's mane. Synthesizer had been thrilled when the two had agreed to take her with them to Canterlot- not only would she not lose her new friends, but she might get an extra chance to woo one or (preferably) both of them. For the moment, though, she was content to watch the adorable couple's personalities clash even in their sleep and relax. She thought back to when she'd gone by SugarCube corner to tell Herb her plans to go to Canterlot. She'd shown up to find Pinkie and Herb squished into a booth together with a large bag filled with suspicious merchandise and plotting grins on their faces. Herb had smiled knowingly when Synth explained her plans, while Pinkie had given her a hug and wished her the best of luck in big ol' Canterlot.
Synth's heart ached a little bit at having left her lifelong friend behind in an unfamiliar place, but she knew she wouldn't have been happy if she'd stayed. No, her place at the moment was here. She would go to Canterlot, pursuing romance and her fortune. She took a moment to consider what she'd be doing right now if she'd never come up with her plan to enter Equestria- probably sitting in her old apartment, watching the ponies on her screen and wishing she were here. She brightened visibly as Vinyl stirred, snorting and taking a moment to untangle her mane from Octavia's before stretching her forelegs out wide and grabbing a bottle of Sweet Tea from the cooler with her magic and taking a long drink. She turned to flash her mischievous grin at Synth before reaching over and, ever so gently, tying the end of Octavia's tail to the end of her mane. She made shushing motions with her hoof and gestured for Synth to lay down before settling down herself and pretending to be asleep against the wall of the carriage. They laid that way for what seemed an eternity, pretending to be asleep and waiting for the seemingly-comatose Cellist to wake up. Eventually, she woke up and yawned, stretching out almost as much as Vinyl had.
She leaned down, going to grasp a bottle of tea in her mouth, and felt a sharp pain as her tail was pulled. She spun around, terrified that some awful pony had snuck into their carriage and was now harassing her- Sure, the thought was ridiculous, seeing as the Carriage was hundreds of feet in the air, but she had just woken up. When she saw noone and heard nothing but a snort from Vinyl- a barely concealed laugh- she turned and, again went for the tea only to feel a sharp twinge from her behind. Vinyl couldn't conceal the laugh that bubbled up this time as Octavia spun so fast that she toppled to the floor in a dizzy mess. Before long, both Synth and Vinyl were doubled over, laughing so hard it felt as if their guts were going to burst. Octavia growled, pouncing on Vinyl and pinning her to the ground.
"Vinyl Scratch!" She said, her tone sharp and reprimanding and a look of severe annoyance in her eyes. "Fix whatever you did immediately!" The fiery musician demanded, and for once the DJ pony obeyed the first time. She reached around and yanked the weak spot in the knot, allowing Octavia's now ruffled mane and tail to fall free. The Cellist huffed angrily and went back to her seat, having finally gotten her tea, and glared at the other two ponies in the carriage, alternating between the two of them regularly, as if she thought that they'd do something if she looked away too long. Well, Synth mused, Vinyl might, regardless of whether or not I'm here. She blushed at the thought, a few rather sordid ideas rolling through her head- she shook her head and stopped herself before she could get too far, because she knew her imagination could get quite intense. Suddenly, all three were jostled as the carriage came to a rough landing, announcing their arrival in Canterlot. Growing giddy with eagerness, Synthesizer stuck her head out the window for her first view of the grand capitol of Equestria.
The streets were quiet and empty, doors were barred and shutters were closed, despite the warm weather. An eerie wind groaned down the streets of Canterlot, making the hairs on the back of Synth's neck bristle uncomfortably. She tossed a questioning glance at her two companions, who seemed just as confused and uncomfortable. As they hopped down and out of the carriage, they were approached by a short and rather fussy young stallion in an ugly tweed jacket. He smiled at them apologetically, as if he knew what an eyesore he was, before handing Octavia (the obvious leader of the group) a small pamphlet.
"I'm so sorry to bother you, ladies, but on authority of Celestia I am required to give you this and inform you that a murderer is stalking the streets of our fair city." He said quickly, as if to get the unpleasant words out of his mouth as quickly as he could. He eyed Synthesizer, his eyes kind and concerned. "You especially, Madame Pegasus. Whoever this murderer is, they have a taste for Pegasi." He added, and Synth's companions shared a worried look. He bade them a good afternoon and hurried back to his office, doing his best to keep a dignified manner as he went.
Vinyl and Octavia shared a worried look before moving up to stand on either side of Synth, boxing her in protectively as they left the landing field and set off for their apartment. Octavia half-heartedly pointed out Canterlot landmarks, about which Vinyl cracked poor jokes, in hope of lightening the mood. She failed miserably, but that didn’t stop Synth from feeling better anyway- though things were grim, it was the way of Equestria for everything to be all right in the end. Though, She thought to herself, Merely the existence of any murderer here has already broken that rule. Before long, the three arrived at Octavia’s apartment- a tall, posh-looking building with a rustic facade. Inside, the building was ultra-modern with a wide open lobby and grand windows that went from the floor to the ceiling, letting in many delicious rays of sunlight. A green-and-white pegasus mare sat behind the desk, nervousness plain on her face. She did her best to smile politely at them as they walked past her to the elevator, but her nerves made it seem more akin to a pained grimace than a smile. They smiled back and Synth even gave her a little wave just before the elevator door shut. As they rode, Octavia read the pamphlet that the nervous stallion had handed her aloud.
Attention, Citizens of Canterlot!
In the past two weeks, a string of murders and assaults have plagued the streets of our glorious city. Little is known about the circumstances of the murders, but the Canterlot Guard have revealed that all of the victims have been Pegasi. According to this reporter’s sources, the only real wounds beyond superficial bruises were the total removal of the victim’s wings. Due to this, many have started referring to this foul fiend as “The Clipper”. Most of the Pegasi accosted by the murderer died of shock rather than their wounds. The handful of survivors are, as of this report, mentally incapable of providing details of their ordeal. On behalf of Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard, it is requested that all citizens remain in their homes during the HOURS OF DARKNESS.
Sincerely,
Scoop Snoop
Investigative Reporter
The three looked at each other with horror- everypony knew that the wings were the most sensitive part of a Pegasus’s body, so the removal of one’s wings would be irrevocably traumatizing, if not fatal. They walked to the apartment in a grim silence- that is, until Synth saw the inside of it and gasped. The apartment, while small, looked extremely expensive and classy. Soft white carpet on the floor, walls painted a softer ivory color, and expensive-looking polished wooden furniture. The only thing that marred the image were the sings of Vinyl’s presence in the apartment- dirty clothes tossed carelessly over couches, a pile of musical equipment against one of the walls, and a few crumpled chocolate wrappers scattered around the living room. Though she could hear Octavia reprimanding Vinyl about the mess, Synth found that it made it seem more alive. Homey. She turned around and gave the two an appreciative grin.
“Nice place.’ She said, trying to convey all her feelings about the place into those two words. She must have succeeded, because Vinyl gave a cheesy grin and Octavia flashed a rare smile before trotting off to the kitchen to make tea. Vinyl clambered over the back of the couch and sprawled out on it, flipping on a radio with her magic as she did so. Grinning slightly to herself, she hopped up next to the unicorn and settled down, nodding her head to the beat of the song that started streaming out of the many speakers Vinyl had arrayed around the room.
After a moment or two of the head-nodding duet, Vinyl leaned over and hollered over the thudding base of the song. “So, I’ve got a gig tonight at a bar downtown. You wanna come? I could always use someone to help me out on stage.” The Unicorn said, and Synth smiled and nodded enthusiastically enough to make her almost lose her balance.
“Yes, I’d love to!”
Dodging from shadow to shadow, The Clipper followed the nervous pegasus silently, reveling in the thrill of the hunt. She watched the lonely mare carefully, taking note of her every movement and every little twitch her extremities made, watching for the signs of a guard trap. She cheered silently to herself as the silly green-and-white pegasus made a turn down a darkened alley and followed, picking up her speed so that she’d be able to catch up before her prey exited the other side. The Clipper jumped and delivered a sound kick to the spine of her quarry, causing her to give a stunned yelp as she crumpled to the ground, momentarily stunned. Pressing her advantage, the hunter grabbed a damp cloth from her saddlebag and held it over the defenseless mare’s face, subduing her struggles and putting her to sleep.
After a few extra moments to ensure that the pegasus wasn’t faking, she tossed the cloth aside and reached again into her saddlebag, this time pulling out a few select tools- A small and delicate scalpel, a pair of tongs specially fitted to be operated by a pony’s mouth, and a large plastic bag with a tight seal. She hummed a little tune to herself as she set to work, making small incisions at all the toughest tendons holding the mare’s wings to her body. She tossed the blade aside, grabbed the tongs, and grabbed the wing just above where it connected to her back. The Clipper pulled gently but firmly, slowly breaking the remaining bits of skin and muscle holding the wing to her side. She repeated the process on the other side, then folded the wings and slid them gently into the bag. She took a disinfectant and sprayed it liberally over where the mare’s wings had been, then gently bandaged her up, covering the wounds with both care and professionalism. She caught sight of a pamphlet plastered against the wall while she was throwing a small blanket over the mare’s back and scoffed at the words.
Murderer? That’s totally uncalled for. They were perfectly alive when I left them. She complained internally, nuzzling the mare affectionately before trotting down the alley and back onto the street, humming a cheerful tune all the while. What’s on my agenda for tonight? Oh, yes. Gotta meet with the guys in an hour, then there’s Scratch’s show at Fillyfools. She mused, making her way home to get cleaned up and store her latest acquisitions.
Herb was having a very good day, indeed. She’d spent the majority of the afternoon playing pranks with Dash and Pinkie, and then gone on to secure lodging for her stay in Ponyville- by rooming with Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner. From there, she’d spent most of the evening chatting idly with the party pony and indulging on innumerable sweets- all fed to her by Pinkie Pie, of course. Where before Herb had simply enjoyed Pinkie’s madness and love for partying, she now was enamored with it- with everything about the pink earth pony, to be honest. From her ever-cheerful demeanor to her hot flank, Herb was drawn to the exuberant pink mare in every way she could think of. The chronic pony was snapped out of her thoughts by the feeling of a hoof prodding her shoulder.
“Hellooo~?” A familiar bubbly voice called, and Herb blinked and turned to focus on the source. She blinked again when she realized that the sun was now well below the horizon- she hadn’t realized that she was sleeping. “Equestria to Herb!” The cheerful voice continued, prompting the hoof to prod again.
“Sorry, Pinkie. I’m up.” She said, punctuating the sentence with a wide yawn. “I miss anything interesting?” The chronic unicorn asked, rubbing the side of her head gently with a hoof.
The pink pony shook her head, giggling. “Nopey dopey, I just thought that you’d be really uncomfortable if you slept the whole night on this bench.” She said, gesturing to the piece of hard metal furniture that Herb was sprawled out on- and indeed, the green mare was already starting to feel a little sore.
She stood and stretched, loosening up her muscles just enough to be able to move, but not enough to wake herself up entirely. “Okay, Pinkie... Where’m I gonna sleep tonight?” She asked, dragging her hooves as she followed the ever-bouncing pony.
Pinkie said nothing til they reached her rooms. She pointed a hoof to a ridiculously-comfortable looking couch and smiled brightly. “Right over there on my comfy-couch six-thousand!” She said, tossing a pillow and blanket onto the cushions and bouncing off toward her room. “Good night, Herbie! I’ll see you in the morning- so be ready for fun!”
Celestia slammed a hoof against the table, knocking over the chess pieces and staggering the angry imp that was violently assaulting said chess pieces. “For the last time, Discord, you cannot win the game by having an Imp throw my pieces off the board!” She growled, glaring at the chaos lord that was now doubled over in laughter.
“But, by Celestia, this game is so boring.” Discord complained, again holding up a bottle of Apple Cider. “What was the reason we can’t play a drinking game, again?” He asked, waving the bottle tantalizingly in her face
The sun princess brushed it aside, nearly knocking it onto the floor. “Because I don’t trust you, Discord.” She said simply, setting all the chess pieces straight and banishing the imp with a single flash of her horn. “Now, shall we start again?” She asked, causing the Draconequus to slump over in defeat.
He shook his head and took a long draught of his cider. “No, Celestia. Are you trying to punish me for my actions? Because this is cruel and unusual.” He complained once more, getting up out of his chair and banging his head against the wall.
The Sun Princess grinned, raising an eyebrow in a taunting manner.
“You mad, Discord?”
Hangovers, Houseguests, and Plot
Herb’s head hurt. A lot. She blinked twice, looking up. She was laying on her back, somewhere. Wherever it was, it was very dark and cool, almost like a basement- actually, judging from the sounds of hoofsteps above her, and the muted voices, it probably was a basement. The sounds weren’t helping her headache. Grumbling angrily, she grasped around her and found what felt like a rock and threw it at the ceiling to attract someone’s attention. “Will you please be quiet up there?!” She shouted, her common sense deserting her.
The voices and movement stopped for a moment, before a flurry of confused and frightened voices replaced them, accentuated by the sound of hoofsteps thumping toward the basement door. It creaked open, and the early-afternoon light shined down the steps and almost directly into Herb’s eyes, causing her to yelp and roll away from the door. At the top of the steps, Pinkie Pie looked down worriedly. She turned to the Cakes. “Uhm… I’ll handle this, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” She said, smiling in her most reassuring manner. The Cakes shared a glance, but nodded and left Pinkie to climb down the steps toward the chronic pony. She sat down next to the groaning unicorn and ran a hoof through her mane, cooing softly. “You all right, there? You’re lookin’ pretty rough. How ‘bout a cupcake?” She asked, her voice uncharacteristically subdued.
After a moment, Herb rolled over to face Pinkie Pie, smiling in spite of the massive, throbbing pain in her head. The pink earth pony's smile widened a bit, always happy to see a friend smile, and she hoofed Herb a cupcake- seemingly pulled from nowhere, as usual. The green pony took it- with some difficulty, as she still wasn't too good with hooves- and took a large bite out of it, fairly sure that it wouldn't help her hangover. She eyed Pinkie thoughtfully as she chewed. "How do you do that, Pinkie?" She asked after swallowing her bite of cupcake.
The pink earth pony tilted her head to the side, confused. "Do what?" Pinkie asked, rubbing the side of her head with a hoof. Herb shook the cupcake she held in her hooves.
"Pull these out of nowhere." The chronic pony clarified, finishing her cupcake in one large bite. Pinkie looked around the basement, as if checking to see if anyone would overhear.
She gestured for Herb to lean closer, and whispered when she did. "I have no idea." She said simply, and then collapsed in laughter at the look on Herb's face. "Oh.. I'm sorry, but I really don't! I have a lot of stuff like that." She said, still giggling slightly. By now, Herb was feeling well enough to get to her hooves- albeit a little unsteadily.
"Really?" Herb asked. "Like what?" She asked, sitting back down after a terrifyingly wobbly attempt to climb the stairs. The Pink Pony tapped her chin thoughtfully.
She looked at her tail, which was almost unnaturally still. "Well, when my tail twitches, it means look out for-" She was interrupted by Herb's grin.
"Falling objects?" Herb asked, waving her tail behind her. Pinkie looked confused, excited, and impressed all at once- if she'd tried to squeeze another emotion onto her face, it probably would've exploded.
She bounced around a little bit as she struggled to choose what to say. "How did you know? How?" The ecstatic pink pony asked, her nose inches from Herb's. The green pony grinned ruefully and brushed a hoof against the bandage on her head.
"How do you think I knew about that bri- ACK!" She yelped as a fluffy-maned pink pony tackled her to the ground with a violent hug.
"I thought I was the only one!"
Synthesizer sat at a small wooden table in a comfortable, dimly lit hotel room. To her left and right sat two other mares- Vinyl and Octavia, respectively- who were, along with Synth herself, sharing awkward looks. Finally, after several tense moments and a few sips of coffee, Vinyl sat forward and spoke. "So... interesting night, huh?" She quipped, her face devoid of any sort of blush whatsoever. The other two stared at her incredulously, and she shuffled uncomfortably. "What?"
The two more sensible mares looked at each other, as if trying to decide who should speak first. After a second, Synth nodded to Octavia, who in turn turned to glare at Vinyl. "What do you mean, 'what'?" She asked, prodding a hoof into Vinyl's chest. "You were in bed with another mare!" She accused, shoving Vinyl again. Synth cleared her throat quietly.
"Well, to be fair, so were you." She said, then flinched under the withering glare Octavia tossed her way- the look screamed Whose side are you on? at the top of it's silent lungs. She turned to look at Vinyl, deciding to take on the role of moderator. "But, Vinyl, she's right. This is serious, even if it's pointless to assign blame." She said, before shrugging and taking a sip of her coffee. She sighed appreciatively- despite how tense and embarrassing the situation was, she couldn't help but marvel at Octavia's aptitude for making coffee- it tasted almost elegant.
She returned her attention to the other two just in time to see an infuriated Octavia launching herself across the table at Vinyl, who was trying very hard not to fall over from her laughing so hard. Synth sighed in disappointment- she'd missed what was, without a doubt, a very good joke. She decided to intervene when Octavia started strangling Vinyl, if only to save herself from being an accomplice to murder. After a few moments of frantic tussling, Synth managed to pull Octavia back long enough for her to calm down a bit. "Are you ready to take this seriously now, Vinyl?" She demanded, and for once the DJ pony did take her seriously.
They all settled back down at the table, Vinyl mourning over her spilt coffee, and after another short but tense silence the aforementioned Unicorn broke the silence. "Well... Octy, Synthesizer, what do you wanna do about this?" She asked, eying the two of them warily. Synth looked at Octavia, then laid her chin on the table and closed her eyes, thinking. Octavia held a hoof to her chin, thinking carefully. After a few moments, a thought struck Vinyl and she spoke up again. "Wait, wait... Are we even sure anything even happened between us last night?" The DJ pony asked, looking around at the other two.
Octavia blinked, as if the thought that they were all innocent of misdoing had never even crossed her mind, and Synth had to giggle quietly at her lack of confidence in Vinyl. The gray mare tapped her hoof to her chin once more. "Well.. if it's true that nothing happened, then we could go our separate ways without much further fuss." She said simply- and then, inexplicably, felt bad for saying it. She supposed Synthesizer wasn't so bad. Maybe a little strange- some of the things she said just weren't normal, and Octavia hadn't seen her fly even once, which was strange for any pegasus- but over all, she seemed like a nice pony. Not to mention that, though she'd never admit it to anypony else, Octavia found the semi-shy blue-violet pegasus more than a little attractive.
Synth flinched internally at Octavia's words- as much as it would be easier for them all to accept that nothing had happened and go their separate ways, she didn't really want to part ways with the two musical ponies. They'd been two of her favorite ponies when she'd been a human- and they were remarkably similar in person to how they were portrayed in the various fanfics that had been posted about them. She looked around at Vinyl, wondering what her opinion on the matter was, and was met with a blank slate- the white unicorn had found her glasses and put them on while Synth was occupied with Octavia, and her expression was unreadable. "Well.. I suppose you're right." She said, grudgingly agreeing with Octavia.
They all looked at each other, nervous blushes and awkward smiles on each of their faces- save for Vinyl's, which was hardly ever graced with a blush. Vinyl lifted her shades, and both Synth and Octavia were surprised to see conflict in her eyes. "Didn't you mention you weren't from around here last night, Synthesizer?" The DJ pony asked, giving the blue-violet pony a look of concern.
Synth, confused, nodded. "Yeah. I came here from.." She hesitated, realizing the mistake she'd made by drawing attention to her origins. "Uh... a farm in the north." She blurted, knowing just how transparent her lie was.
Apparently, Vinyl bought it. "Well, where are you staying while you're here?" She asked, rubbing at the side of her head and averting her eyes- the unicorn wasn't used to being openly caring with anyone but Octavia.
The very same Octavia that was now looking at Vinyl with a carefully controlled expression. Where was she going with this? She looked over at Synth, who looked like she had no idea how to answer the question, and then she suddenly understood what Vinyl was getting at. She turned to look at Synth, smiling kindly. "Well, considering that we've already been what will probably the worst of any awkwardness, you're welcome to stay with us, I suppose." She said, and was surprised to find that she meant it- as much as she'd disliked the pegasus pony the night before, she didn't find her anywhere near as bad now.
Octavia snapped herself out of her thoughts and looked around to find Vinyl and Synthesizer both looking at her strangely. Finally, Vinyl spoke. "Yeah... that's what I was going to say." She said, offering a hoof to Synth. Synth, smiling, took and shook it gently.
"Thank you! I'd love to." She said, trying not to get too worked up. Suddenly, an errant thought flicked across her mind. "But wait... You two don't live around here, do you?" She asked, and Vinyl slapped a hoof into her own face, making Synth jump.
"D'oh!" She grumbled, holding the hoof in place for a moment before turning back to Synth. "You're right, we don't. I totally forgot. Yeah, we're from Canterlot." She said, shaking her head in annoyance. Octavia, too, facehoofed.
"Vinyl, dear, how exactly did that fact manage to slip both of our minds?" She asked, shaking her head with the hoof still firmly planted.
The DJ pony grinned, running a hoof through her mane. "Ehh.. I usually blame this kinda thing on the hangover." She replied, giggling slightly.
Synthesizer watched the two with an odd little half-smile on her face. "Well, when do you two go back?" She asked, smiling at the embarrassed expression on Octavia's face.
Octavia cleared her throat uncomfortably, throwing a glance at the clock on the wall. "In about two hours." She said, prompting another facehoof from Vinyl. Synth couldn't help but think that the musical couple's foreheads must have really hurt by now.
The blue-violet pegasus pony rubbed her chin with a hoof, deep in thought, before coming to a conclusion. "How 'bout I come with? I actually know quite a bit about the set up you're running, Vinyl. Maybe I could help out- I need a job anyway." She suggested, chewing unconsciously on a strand of her mane as she waited, quite nervously, for an answer.
Celestia, the Sun Princess and (co)Ruler of Equestria, sat in her private chambers alone, reading the latest letter from Twilight. It mentioned two peculiar ponies that had appeared out of the blue in Ponyville and had attended- and gotten quite intoxicated at- a party welcoming them to aforementioned town. Normally, the Immortal Princess would have paid it no mind- were it not for the fact that Twilight mentioned that the Unicorn had little to no magic aura, and the Pegasus couldn't fly. Now, that was odd. She was in the middle of getting the materials to write a return message when a ghostly chuckle echoed through her chambers. She looked around, confused- that laugh sounded so familiar, but it couldn't be who she thought it was.. not this soon. She scanned the room again, and there, in a chair that had been empty moments later sat-
"Miss me, Celestia? I missed you." The Draconequus asked, his arms crossed over his chest. "It kind of hurt my feelings that you decided to turn me into a rock again- that was just plain rude." He said, wagging a finger back and forth like a kindly reprimanding parent.
The immortal alicorn he was addressing spluttered and stared in shock. "Discord! How'd you escape so quickly?" She demanded, taking a threatening step toward him.
The Chaos Lord held up his hands defensively, then gestured towards the window that overlooked the gardens. "Easy, now, Princess. I didn't escape." He said, and Celestia saw that it was true- the statue was intact. "I'm just here for you." He said, wrapping an arm around her neck and tousling her mane playfully.
Scowling, the Princess shrugged off his arm and stepped away from him, going back to writing her letter. "What do you want from me, Discord?" She asked, trying to distract him while she thought up a spell to make him leave her alone. The Draconequus looked hurt.
"I just figured we were going about this the wrong way, Celestia. Two immortals, with no choice but to battle each other over and over again into eternity? Sounds so... grim." He said, sitting back in Celestia's chair, much to her irritation. "So, I was relaxing in my stone prison when the thought struck me; Why don't we be friends, you and I?" He suggested, batting his eyelashes in what he must've thought was an attractive manner. The Sun Princess turned around and stared, incredulous.
She shook her head, as if shaking herself out of her own thoughts, and raised an eyebrow at the mad god. "Are you bucking kidding me, Discord?" She asked, then pretended to examine his eyes. "Has what little logic you had abandoned you?" She said, now just ribbing the annoyed-looking draconequus.
He glared at her, giving her his best disappointed look, and shook his head. "I mean it, Celestia. I'm going to be stuck in your dreary gardens for at least the lifespan of your precious Element Holders. It might be nice to have a friend to spend the time with. Hey, maybe we can even solve our differences so that next time, we don't have to fight." He said, and though Celestia knew he couldn't be trusted, she wanted to believe that the Draconequus could be reasonable.
"Okay, Discord- I'll spare a little bit of time to 'hang out' with you every day, so long as you promise no funny business." She said, feeling like a character out of a story-
She paused to look at the author, raising an eyebrow. "Breaking the fourth wall on your own, much?" She asked, before turning back to Discord.
and the Chaos Lord held out his hand. Celestia put a hoof in it, and they shook.
Discord grinned and settled back into his chair. "So, Celly, what do you wanna do?" He asked, steepling his fingers over his lap and looking for all the world like an evil genius- which, of course, he was. When Celestia shrugged, he held out his hands- an empty bottle snapped into existence in one, and three full bottles of Hard Apple Cider in the other. "Spin the Bottle or Truth?"
